Rial Gets Some Respite

Foreign exchange rates continued to decline in Tehran on Sunday as the rial got a long-awaited boost following reports that talks in Vienna to restore Iran’s nuclear deal were in the final round.
The dollar lost close to 2% or 5,000 rials in the early hours of trade in the open market before paring some losses later.
The comeback was partly due to the official exchange shops’ move to increase prices in mid-session. The greenback closed Sunday at 237,400 rials, down 1.1% or 2,600 rials.
Official exchange bureaus affiliated to the Central Bank of Iran, tagged the dollar at 240,330 rials, up from 234,690 earlier in the day and 2.35% or 5,440 rials higher than Saturday’s close.
Other major currencies also fell. The euro lost more than 1.9% and was worth 279,460 rials. The UK pound sterling fetched 325,080 rials down 1.91 or 6,210 rials compared to Saturday.
The UAE dirham dropped slightly by 0.16% to be traded at 65,400 posting the biggest daily decline a session before shedding 2.3%.
Market observers say currency dealers are closely monitoring the ongoing negotiations aimed to revive the Iran nuclear agreement known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The currency market decline is mainly due to positive reports that a deal is imminent, which could and would practically translate into a stronger rial.
On the sidelines of the latest round of talks in Vienna, Iran’s  chief negotiator, Abbas Araghchi, told state TV late Saturday that all the documents required to finalize the accord are in place “subject to decisions that need to be made by the negotiating parties.”
Araghchi expressed the hope that a final agreement to restore the deal can be reached in the next round of negotiations, IRNA reported.
As expected, downturn in the currency market extended to the domestic bullion market already distressed by the descending trend in the international market.
After losing close to 5% a session earlier, the Emami gold coin added to losses on Sunday. The widely traded coin lost close to 1% or 950,000 rials to be traded at 102.15 million rials.
The Half Bahar Azadi coin declined sharply and lost 6.6% or 3.6 million rials to buy 54.700 million rials, according to the Persian-language economic website Eqtesad News. The coin had declined slightly a session earlier by 0.3%.